SIVIM Floodplain Forests - Database of riverine forests and scrubs from the Iberian Peninsula

'SIVIM Floodplain Forests' (GIVD ID: EU-00-024) is a thematic database focused on vegetation plots of riverine forests and scrubs from the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees (Spain, Portugal and southern France). It was registered in the GIVD in February 2016. The data are available both from EVA and sPlot in semi-restricted regime. The database includes both digitized relevés from the literature and unpublished data. Many digitized relevés were derived from SIVIM (GIVD ID EU-00-004) and BIOVEG (GIVD ID EU-00-011), with which SIVIM Floodplain Forests thus partly overlaps. Currently it contains 4,736 vegetation plots of floodplain forests, alder carrs, willow scrubs, and tamarisk and oleander thickets, 99% of them classified at association level. Plot size is available for 94.6% of the relevés. Plant taxonomy is standardized to Flora Iberica. The database has been used for studies on vegetation classification at Iberian and European level, as well as studies on plant invasion, fine-grain plant diversity and macroecological analyses, most of them via EVA

Forest edge herbaceous vegetation (Trifolio-Geranietea) of northern Spain

A survey of the vegetation of forest (and hedge) fringes, classified within the Trifolio-Geranietea, in the Basque Country and the western and central Pyrenees (northern Spain) is presented. Three plant associations can be distinguished: the Centaureo nemoralis-Origanetum vulgaris, the Agrimonio-Trifolietum medii (both on limerich substrates) and the Hyperico androsaemi-Teucrietum scorodoniae (typical of siliceous soils). The Centaureo nemoralis-Origanetum vulgaris has already been known from the Atlantic zone of France. The Agrimonio-Trifolietum medii was described for Central Europe and it was also found to be widespread in the Pyrenees. The Hyperico androsaemi-Teucrietum scorodoniae is a new syntaxon (described in this paper) and occurs in coastal regions of the Atlantic Basque Country (Santanderino-Vizcaino Subsector)

The challenge of abandonment for the sustainable management of Palaearctic natural and semi-natural grasslands

Disturbance by biomass removal is a crucial mechanism maintaining the diversity of Palaearctic grasslands, which are unique biodiversity hotspots. The century-long traditional land use of mowing, grazing and burning, has been fundamentally changed in many parts of the Palaearctic. Due to socio-economic changes, large areas of former pastures and meadows have been abandoned, leading to a succession towards secondary scrublands or forest and the encroachment of competitor grass species, all leading to a decrease in biodiversity. Here we report the causes and consequences of the cessation of traditional grassland management regimes, provide strategies for reducing the impact of abandonment and consider these from the perspective of sustainability. We consider the possibilities for initiating sustainable management regimes in the contemporary socio-economic environment, and discuss the prospects and limitation of alternative management regimes in the conservation of grassland biodiversity. These themes are also the core topics of this Special Feature, edited by the EDGG. We hope that this Special Feature will encourage steps towards more sustainable strategies for the conservation of Palaearctic grasslands and the integration of the sustainability perspective into their conservation. © by Orsolya Valkó 2018.Peer reviewe

The Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) in 2016-2017

This report summarizes the activities and achievements of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) from mid-2016 through to the end of 2017. During this period, the 13th Eurasian Grassland Conference took place in Sighişoara, Romania, and the 14th conference was held in Riga, Latvia. The 10th EDGG Field Workshop on Biodiversity patterns across a precipitation gradient in the Central Apennine mountains was conducted in the Central Apennines, Italy, this time in addition to multi-scale sampling of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, also including one animal group (leaf hoppers). Apart from the quarterly issues of its own electronic journal (Bulletin of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group), EDGG also finalised five grassland-related Special Features/Issues during the past 1.5 years in the following international journals: Applied Vegetation Science, Biodiversity and Conservation, Phytocoenologia, Tuexenia and Hacquetia. Beyond that, EDGG facilitated various national and supra-national vegetationplot databases of grasslands and established its own specialised database for standardised multi-scale plot data of Palaearctic grasslands (GrassPlot). © by Stephen Venn 2018.Peer reviewe

The Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) in 2015-2016

Peer reviewe

Assessing plant diversity and composition in grasslands across spatial scales: the standardised EDGG sampling methodology

This paper presents the details of the EDGG sampling methodology and its underlying rationales. The methodology has been applied during EDGG Research Expeditions and EDGG Field Workshops since 2009, and has been subsequently adopted by various other researchers. The core of the sampling are the EDGG Biodiversity Plots, which are 100‐m2 squares comprising, in two opposite corners, nested‐plot series of 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 m2 square plots, in which all terricolous vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens are recorded using the shoot presence method. In the 10‐m2 plots, species cover is also estimated as a percentage and various environmental and structural parameters are recorded. Usually the EDGG Biodiversity Plots are complemented by the sampling of additional 10 m2 normal plots with the same parameters as the 10‐m2 corners of the first, allowing coverage of a greater environmental diversity and the achievement of higher statistical power in the subsequent analyses for this important grain size. The EDGG sampling methodology has been refined over the years, while its core has turned out to generate high‐quality, standardised data in an effective manner, which facilitates a multitude of analyses. In this paper we provide the current versions of our guidelines, field forms and data entry spreadsheets, as open‐access Online Resources to facilitate the easy implementation of this methodology by other researchers. We also discuss potential future additions and modifications to the approach, among which the most promising are the use of stratified‐random methods to a priori localise the plots and ideas to sample invertebrate taxa on the same plots and grain sizes, such as grasshoppers (Orthoptera) and vegetation‐dwelling spiders (Araneae). As with any other method, the EDGG sampling methodology is not ideal for every single purpose, but with its continuous improvements and its flexibility, it is a good multi‐ purpose approach. A particularly advantageous element, lacking in most other sampling schemes, including classical phytosociogical sampling, is the multi‐scale and multi‐taxon approach, which provides data that allow for deeper understanding of the generalities and idiosyncrasies of biodiversity patterns and their underlying drivers across scales and taxa

The leaf economic and plant size spectra of European forest understory vegetation

Forest understories play a vital role in ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. However, the extent to which environmental conditions drive dominant ecological strategies in forest understories at the continental scale remains understudied. Here, we used similar to 29 500 forest vegetation plots sampled across Europe and classified into 25 forest types to explore the relative role of macroclimate, soil pH and tree canopy cover in driving abundance-weighted patterns in the leaf economic spectrum (LES) and plant size spectrum (PSS) of forest understories (shrub and herb layers). We calculated LES using specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and PSS using plant height and seed mass of vascular plant species found in the understories. We found that forest understories had more conservative leaf economics in areas with more extreme mean annual temperatures (mainly Fennoscandia and the Mediterranean Basin), more extreme soil pH and under more open canopies. Warm and summer-dry regions around the Mediterranean Basin and areas of Atlantic Europe also had taller understories with heavier seeds than continental temperate or boreal areas. Understories of broadleaved deciduous forests, such as Fagus forests on non-acid soils, or ravine forests, more commonly hosted species with acquisitive leaf economics. In contrast, some coniferous forests, such as Pinus, Larbc and Picea mire forests, or Pinus sylvestris light taiga and sclerophyllous forests, more commonly hosted species with conservative leaf economics. Our findings highlight the importance of macroclimate and soil factors in driving trait variation of understory communities at the continental scale and the mediator effect of canopy cover on these relationships. We also provide the first maps and analyses of LES and PSS of forest understories across Europe and give evidence that the understories of European forest types are differently positioned along major axes of trait variation

The leaf economic and plant size spectra of European forest understory vegetation

Forest understories play a vital role in ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. However, the extent to which environmental conditions drive dominant ecological strategies in forest understories at the continental scale remains understudied. Here, we used ~29 500 forest vegetation plots sampled across Europe and classified into 25 forest types to explore the relative role of macroclimate, soil pH and tree canopy cover in driving abundance-weighted patterns in the leaf economic spectrum (LES) and plant size spectrum (PSS) of forest understories (shrub and herb layers). We calculated LES using specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and PSS using plant height and seed mass of vascular plant species found in the understories. We found that forest understories had more conservative leaf economics in areas with more extreme mean annual temperatures (mainly Fennoscandia and the Mediterranean Basin), more extreme soil pH and under more open canopies. Warm and summer-dry regions around the Mediterranean Basin and areas of Atlantic Europe also had taller understories with heavier seeds than continental temperate or boreal areas. Understories of broadleaved deciduous forests, such as Fagus forests on non-acid soils, or ravine forests, more commonly hosted species with acquisitive leaf economics. In contrast, some coniferous forests, such as Pinus, Larix and Picea mire forests, or Pinus sylvestris light taiga and sclerophyllous forests, more commonly hosted species with conservative leaf economics. Our findings highlight the importance of macroclimate and soil factors in driving trait variation of understory communities at the continental scale and the mediator effect of canopy cover on these relationships. We also provide the first maps and analyses of LES and PSS of forest understories across Europe and give evidence that the understories of European forest types are differently positioned along major axes of trait variation

Processing and mechanical properties of novel biodegradable poly-lactic acid/Zn 3D printed scaffolds for application in tissue regeneration

The feasibility to manufacture scaffolds of poly-lactic acid reinforced with Zn particles by fused filament fabrication is demonstrated for the first time. Filaments of 2.85 mm in diameter of PLA reinforced with different weight fractions of $\mu$m-sized Zn - 1 wt. \% Mg alloy particles (in the range 3.5 to 17.5 wt. \%) were manufactured by a double extrusion in method in which standard extrusion is followed by a precision extrusion in a filament-maker machine. Filaments with constant diameter, negligible porosity and a homogeneous reinforcement distribution were obtained for Zn weight fractions of up to 10.5\%. It was found that the presence of Zn particles led to limited changes in the physico-chemical properties of the PLA that did not affect the window temperature for 3D printing nor the melt flow index. Thus, porous scaffolds could be manufactured by fused filament fabrication at 190\textdegree C with poly-lactic acid/Zn composites containing 3.5 and 7 wt. \% of Zn and at 170\textdegree C when the Zn content was 10.5 wt. \% with excellent dimensional accuracy and mechanical properties